Tag: Film Review

WEDDING WEEKEND 2 – A REVIEW

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PRODUCERS: Wole Adeyi & Mike Bamiloye
DIRECTORS: Damilola Mike-Bamiloye & Wole Adeyi
MAJOR CAST: Rosemary Adio, Imuetinyan Omere, Damilola Mike-Bamiloye, Tumise Falana

LOCATION: Texas, USA
YEAR: 2024

REVIEWER: IFIOKABASI OKOP

If you saw “Wedding Weekend” in 2023, a sequel was released on the 6th of October, 2023 on Damilola Mike-Bamiloye’s YouTube channel.

So, go and watch it.

Alright, let’s get this review started.

“Wedding Weekend 2” follows the redemption journey of Valerie who has a bad name, a bad reputation, and a terrible past. Edmond is the person God uses to change her life but will she let go of her past and accept God’s promises for her life? Would the people who know her past accept or reject her, even though God has shown her mercy?

It is a story of redemption, restoration, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

Let’s break it down.

THE PERFORMANCES

Rosemary Adio’s portrayal of Valerie is a standout in the film. She goes through many emotions, and she effortlessly takes me on those journeys with her. One particularly moving scene is when she cries and prays after her sister passes away—it is heart-wrenching because her acting makes me feel her grief.

Imuetinyan Omere plays Edmund, and I think he is a fine actor. He has a lot of heavy lifting in this film compared to the first one, and he gives a good, believable performance. He nails the comedic, dramatic, and romantic scenes well, and I look forward to seeing him portray other characters in future films. A standout for me is his bromance with his elder brother, Marvin.


Damilola Mike-Bamiloye, once again as Marvin is superb! DBaba delivers, forget it! Not only does he know how to write good scripts, but he also knows how to interpret them. He adds subtle acting choices that I noticed—in the scene where he hung up after Valerie prayed for him, I could see the confusion on his face as if he was hinting that he recognized the voice but just couldn’t place it.

Tumise Falana as Gabby has fewer scenes than her co-stars, but she does justice to her character. While I don’t like that she delivers her lines slowly, I appreciate that she shows a range of emotions in the film. Her best scene is the confrontation with Valerie when she shows up at their home—I love the switch in her character, and I was like, “Let’s go, sis, let her know what she did was absolutely wrong.“


Temitope Falana plays Emily, Marvin’s evil boss who wants to date Edmond by all means. She delivers her character with range and believability. Her transformation from a “nice” person to a villain takes a complete turn, and I was shocked by how unexpectedly her character becomes so evil and vengeful.

WHAT I LOVED

The story: This is a story that many Christians can relate to because God still works miracles in the most mysterious situations, and this film is a reminder to never to underestimate His omnipotence.

The music: I love Joshua Mike-Bamiloye’s music, and the soundtrack and songs in this film were just Chef’s Kiss. He also released a new song for this film titled, “Brand New Day”.


The location and set designs: I loved the houses used in this film. I wish I were as wealthy as the characters to own such large, beautiful homes. But maybe one day…

The ending. It made me cry. I didn’t expect it to, because it was spoiled in the comments section (I’d advise you not to read them until you finish the film) but I still cried. A combo of the acting and the soundtrack got me because nobody was cutting onions near me.

Comic Relief. Dami adds little pockets of humour throughout the film which I appreciate because they help ease the tension from the serious themes. My favourite comedic line – “I know Chatgpt helped you out with your proposal”.


WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

1. Marvin’s appointment, coming a day after being fired by Emily, was too rushed in my opinion. If it had been discovered that she was involved in fraudulent activities, I would have preferred it to be shown, rather than told. I wanted Emily to be exposed for her wickedness and see the sorry look she’d have on her face especially after she had put the brothers through so much because of something so flimsy.

2. The forgiveness in the scene when Valerie is introduced to Gabby and Marvin feels too quick. Realistically, the couple would likely need time for prayers, self-reflection, or even a revelation before they could truly forgive Valerie and welcome her back into their lives, especially in such a close familial role.

3. Valerie moved on too quickly from her sister’s death. The film should have at least shown a burial scene where she could say a final goodbye to her sister and then move on.

“Wedding Weekend Part 2” made me laugh, cry, gasp, and hope for a happy ending for the characters and it didn’t disappoint. It is indeed a story of God’s mercy and how He can transform anyone regardless of their past.

What are you waiting for? Go watch it if you haven’t.

THE CHOSEN REVIEW: INDESCRIBABLE COMPASSION

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The sixth episode of The Chosen comes fully packed.


The miracles, the dialogue, the acting, everything blends together in this episode to make the character development and subplot unravel perfectly.


The two miracles we witness happen in controversial situations. Jesus could have easily walked away from healing them but defied the odds and showed them compassion.

This reiterates the fact that the love and mercy Christ has for humanity is indescribable.


One major scene in this episode is shot in Zebedee’s house and it features the healing of the paralytic.

It would seem like an ordinary scene with different components and conflicts going on but surprisingly, the chaos blossomed into a bursting delight.


We see through the eyes of Matthew and Nicodemus how the miracle they witnessed created a quest, a yearning for truth, much of which will be depicted in the coming episodes.


Indescribable Compassion portrays Jesus as a friend, teacher, the saviour and most importantly, the son of God.


PS: To watch this episode, download The Chosen app here.


Please read our review of The Chosen’s Ep 3, The Wedding Gift.

The Chosen Review: Shabbat

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How would you feel if the President of a country, whom you hold in high esteem pays you a visit uninvited? Especially when he passes by other houses and decides on your unspectacular house?

Sounds unbelievable?

That is exactly how Mary must have felt in Episode 2 of The Chosen when the doctor who healed her of her infirmity without collecting a dime showed up at her doorsteps for Sabbath. More important was the fact that she did not invite him, yet, He found her.

I want such an August visitor, who wouldn’t?


But just before Sabbath, we witness the events of the day in the lives of Mary, Nicodemus, Simeon Peter and Matthew. We observe as Matthew display a matchless level of courage before the Praetor of Judea, Quintus, from whom he went to confirm if Simon Peter and his brother’s taxes had indeed been waived by the Roman Officer as alleged by Peter in exchange for a job for the officer.

Read The Chosen’s S1 Ep1 Review

Matthew learnt that their taxes had been waived for a job which required Peter to spy on his brethren and bring names of those who worked on Sabbath and were tax evaders. An act considered as betrayal and greatly disapproved by his brother, Andrew.

In the same episode, Nicodemus to his uttermost dismay got information that Mary Magdalene upon whom he had earlier performed religious rites to deliver her from demonic possession, though unsuccessful, had been miraculously healed, a task which he had earlier deemed humanly impossible. He embarks on a quest to find out how this came to be.

They all seemed to have had a busy day but what was much more interesting about these characters was how they celebrated Sabbath.

One had so much friends all around for the events. Isn’t that what we all want? Another chose money above his family, the one who wanted to spend time with his family was not wanted by them while Mary had an august visitor! From all these, what can we learn?


So what makes Sabbath so different from every other day and how did these people prepare towards it?

How should we celebrate what we consider to be the “day of rest” in our society? Episode 2 offers us the requisite answers to these.

Download The Chosen App here to watch the series for free.

Watch Season One’s trailer here.

THE CHOSEN: Retelling The Story of Jesus Christ

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If you are a person who nitpicks your way through movies only going for those that you are sure would prove to be eternally and critically relevant, then we have something for you. This movie series is a Loaves and Fish production, co-produced and distributed by Angel Productions. In a time such as ours, when old movies and screenplays are being rewritten and reenacted using more contemporary equipment, time-honed skills and modern techniques, the great stories of the Bible are not left behind.

Meet The Chosen. The Chosen is a story of a man on a mission to tell his people about God in the face of Roman colonization. It is set in 20-30 AD Israel. The characters are familiar to those who may have read the Autoptic gospel of John or the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The slow storytelling and great acting make for a compelling story by Dallas Jenkins. The plot of The Chosen is non-fiction and based on the life of Jesus Christ. The series aims to showcase Christ “through the eyes of those who met him”.

For anyone who has seen any movie about the life of Christ while he was physically on Earth, the plot will prove enchanting and fully immersing.

The Chosen is a Vidangel adaptation of The Shepherd, a short film also created by Dallas Jenkins. The Chosen is a massively crowdfunded project. Infact, The Chosen is now the top crowdfunded filmed project, having raised over $16.2 million from 316,000 investors.

Yes, there are long moments and the progression is quite slow, but it all adds to the reverence with which Christ is portrayed in this record breaking screenplay. Dallas Jenkins has said that he wishes for the movie series to reach the eyes of a billion people, so it is safe to say that everyone is the target audience.

In a time of a full spectrum of intellectual and cultural perspectives, The Chosen appears to be the chosen Jesus’ story of our time.

Unlike other depictions of the life of Jesus, such as A.D., Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus, The Passion, Jesus: His Life; The Chosen comes away from the usual technique of following Jesus around as he delivers analogies, dissertations and life-changing miracles. The Chosen series also takes the dynamic perspective of portraying Jesus as a shared character in the lives and stories of characters like Matthew, Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, Andrew, John, James and others.



From wide shots of the choice locations, mid shots of threatening Roman soldiers and close shots of thoughtful Jews; the cinematography is quite engaging, coupled with a rural ambience and sounds that leave you “waking up” from each episode.

The Cast features Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, Paras Patel as Matthew, Shahar Isaac as Simon Peter, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, and Erick Avari as Nicodemus. The Cast is succinctly chosen and proves their mettle from episode to episode; and you can watch the other movies mentioned in this article for a sort of template for the characters. From December 24th 2017 till now, the Chosen has been distributed by Angel Studios.

All in all, The Chosen is a serious project and its impact is just beginning to be felt beyond the circles of cinema enthusiasts, internet explorers and critics.

With Season 2 airing its last episode in July, we are starting a new series of reviews on The Chosen’s season 1 episodes. We hope our perspective on the series’ storytelling will enjoin you to watch it and more importantly, read up The Synoptic Gospels for more understanding on the life of Jesus.

Download The Chosen App here to watch the series for free.

Watch Season One’s trailer here.

Film Review: Miracles from heaven

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Production companies: Affirm Films, Roth Films and Franklin Entertainment

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

Release Date: February 21, 2016 (Dallas) and March 16, 2016 (United States)

Running time: 109 minutes

Reviewer: Chidimma Nnagbo

 

There are a lot of questions that defy answers. One of such questions is why we don’t receive everything we ask of God at the time we ask for it. Is it the result of our inadequacies or God’s mysterious ways? Most Christians consider these kinds of questions abominable and faithless, either because they have never been in situations that stretch their faith past its elastic limit or they have attained a certain level of faith no amount of earthly difficulty and emotional stress can waver.

Miracles from Heaven is a 2016 American Christian movie directed by Patricia Riggen, written by Randy Brown and produced by DeVon Franklin, T. D. Jakes and Joe Roth. It is based on a book by Christy Beam which tells the true  story of a heart-wrenching situation when God seem far away and non-existent. The film was released on March 16, 2016. T

The movie starts with a picture of a happy Christian middle class family. Jennifer Graner who seems to have no troubles switching from core action movies to love movies to now Christian movies played the role of Christy Beam, the mother to 10 year old Anna Beam (Kylie Rogers) who had a rare, incurable disorder that leaves her unable to digest food.

Christy Beam on recommendation tracked down a doctor who specialized in rare conditions like Anna’s but couldn’t get an appointment to see him since there was a waiting list of patients. Dejected and sympathetic of her daughter who was in severe pain, they left the hospital to a restaurant where they met the delightful, energetic and kind-hearted Angela (Queen Latifah). Angela brings a little humour and comic relief to the story as she does in most of her other movies. She befriends Anna and her mother and offers to take them on a tour round Boston and to see the Aquarium which she had missed visiting back home because of her sickness. In one funny scene, Angela had to Jack her dilapidated car door open using one leg and two hands in a frantic fight.

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Angela with Christy and Anna Beam

Finally, Anna got an appointment to see Dr. Nurko (Martin Henderson) and after series of trials nothing could be done to help Anna. Anna had a roommate in the hospital, Hailey, who had cancer. She told Hailey about Jesus and spoke about the fact that he’s always present with her. Hailey believed; but Hailey’s father warned Christy to stop her daughter from giving his daughter false hope.

Things were quite bad at this point. The pain was so excruciating Anna wanted to die. Her mother had lost faith in God. They didn’t even have the finances to continue with the treatments. Dr. Nurko advised her to take her daughter home.

Back home, some people in church told Christy Beam her daughter’s condition may be as a result of her or her husband’s sinfulness or even Anna’s. This infuriated her and she stopped going to church. A dark shadow was cast over the family of 5. She had prayed, cried and begged God, yet nothing changed and her poor innocent daughter was still suffering with an enlarged abdomen and severe pains.

The turning point of the story was when Anna fell into a tree while playing with her sisters. A rescue unit  got her out after several hours. Miraculously, she was cured of her sickness after the fall. Her abdomen returned to its normal size, and she could eat without tubes. Later on, she told her parents that while she was in the tree, she left her body and that she saw Jesus and that Jesus had told her that she would be okay.

The part I consider most interesting in the movie was Christy coming back to church. The media came to cover the service as Anna’s story had gone viral. Christy stood at the pulpit and made a very honest speech. She said when Anna got sick she couldn’t understand why such a devoted God-loving little Anna was going through what she went through. She felt alone and angry that their prayers weren’t being answered. She quoted Albert Einstein ‘“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” There was a flashback of how extraordinarily they got an appointment to see Dr. Nurko, they met Angela,  who brought a little laughter to their faces in the midst of their hopelessness, her husband got a free flight ticket to Boston for himself and Anna’s sister when they had no money. She said she was blind to those little miracles.

She asked one crucial question: “why was Anna healed when today around the world, there are so many children suffering?” She admitted she didn’t have an answer. But as far as she was concerned, those who suffer are not alone in their hurting state. God remains with them through their travails.

The movie stands out because of this: while God’s power was clearly and gloriously shown, questions in the mind of Christians were not sidelined and covered with empty speeches and acts. The acknowledgement that everything isn’t always perfect was captured, yet the presence of an omnipotent God was also evidently displayed.

©Chidimma Nnagbo, 2019